I’ve been a designer for most of what I’d consider my adult life, and it still drives me crazy. When you start off complaining about design and end up writing it a love letter, it’s clearly a love-hate relationship.

I have sent out so many estimates in the past couple of months, it would make your head spin. This week alone, I have three open estimates floating about, and another couple of leads to follow up on. I hate writing estimates. It takes a lot longer than invoicing and feels much less rewarding. It’s […]

Every year, I have the best intentions to celebrate my business’ birthday in some fashion. Every year, I remember two weeks too late. Triggers & Sparks is basically my neglected child. I suppose that might explain why every now and again, it throws temper tantrums. There are a number of anniversaries I could celebrate—the day […]

Businesswise, the last few weeks have been quite active for me. I’ve heard from lots of new clients and have started quite a number of new projects. I’ve even heard from old prospects I’d forgotten about, and I’ve had interest crop up from new contacts. I noticed, however, that while I’m working an awful lot, I’m […]

It’s super-important. Seriously, though, I’ve spent the last five weeks with my dominant arm in a giant cast. (Although after week two, I regained the use of my elbow and some fingers and by week three was able to use an extra couple of fingers on my right hand while typing, which has helped. My […]

So my poor telephone is on its last legs, and I’m finally breaking down and getting a shiny new iPhone, for a wide variety of reasons. (It’s pretty! It does “smart” stuff that my StupidPhone Blackberry can’t! It can play music and take photos that don’t look totally terrible! Designing iPhone apps will be easier […]

For the past few months, I’ve been planning and plotting and getting myself excited about the prospect of another big trip. Those who know me are well aware of my fondness for travel, and I haven’t gone anywhere interesting (Ottawa doesn’t count) for some time. I had big plans (South America, Death Valley, Mexico) that […]

For a girl who never wears a watch and doesn’t care much for numbers, I’m obsessed with time. When you bill an hourly rate, of course, this is only to be expected—after all, the time = money equation becomes far more self-evident when you know exactly what an hour is worth. In theory, this focus […]